Dear (Kosher) Barbecue Guest

This is a response to a DovBear post kvetching about having been a guest at a neighbour’s 4th of July BBQ. Summer is a great time to have non-Jewish and non-religious friends and relations, because a barbecue is so perfect – so casual, no pressure (as opposed to Shabbos dinner).

So here are my “host kvetches” in response to DovBear’s “guest kvetches.”

Dear BBQ Guest:

1) Like beer? Bring it! Plus something else. Certainly, don't show up empty-handed saying, "I couldn't find anything kosher." (in a city with 20 kosher bakeries, groceries, etc, not to mention countless fruit and veggie stores)
2) Like wine? Us, too! But no, Mogen David doesn't go great at a BBQ. The word "sacramental" is your clue here.
3) Meat - for sure! I marinated those shish-ka-bobs all day. And with the price of kosher chicken and coconut milk, it wasn't cheap. Say thank you; appreciate it more because we're paying a premium to feed you.
4) Kosher steak not to your liking? Consider the fact that there were only two packages of steak left in the entire city. We shopped at three stores to find you the best, but this is what there was. Chew quietly, and don't complain.
5) Show up! Don't just NOT EVER show up, like one couple we once planned a BBQ with. We see this couple socially all the time; talk about awkward.

And, of course, be sure to come back soon!!!

p.s. Here’s my basic “Thai” marinade for chicken shishkabobs: coconut milk, cumin, red pepper flakes, cinnamon (just a tiny bit), salt, sugar, pepper, lime juice, fresh ginger & garlic. Vary the quantities to suit your taste (start with a lot of coconut milk and small bits of the rest!) and whir in a blender. Cut up chicken (preferably dark meat) early in the day or the night before and let it soak in the marinade 'till you're ready to make up the skewers. Mmm...

Comments

לימודי קודש/Limudei Kodesh Copywork & Activity Printables

Welcome to my Limudei Kodesh / Jewish Studies copywork and activity printables page. As of June 2013, I am slowly but surely moving all my printables over to 4shared because Google Docs / Drive is just too flaky for me. What you’ll find here: Weekly Parsha Copywork More Parsha Activities More Chumash / Tanach Activities Yom Tov Copywork & Activities Tefillah Copywork Pirkei Avos / Pirkei Avot Jewish Preschool Resources Other printables! For General Studies printables and activities, including Hebrew-English science resources and more, click here . For Miscellaneous homeschool helps and printables, click here . If you use any of my worksheets, activities or printables, please leave a comment or email me at Jay3fer “at” gmail “dot” com, to link to your blog, to tell me what you’re doing with it, or just to say hi! If you want to use them in a school, camp or co-op setting, please email me (remove the X’s) for rates. If you just want to say Thank You, here’s a

Hebrew/ עברית & English General Studies Printables

For Jewish Studies, including weekly parsha resources and copywork, click here . If you use any of my worksheets, activities or printables, please leave a comment or email me at Jay3fer “at” gmail “dot” com, to link to your blog, to tell me what you’re doing with it, or just to say hi! If you want to use them in a school, camp or co-op setting, please email me (remove the X’s) for rates. If you enjoy these resources, please consider buying my weekly parsha book, The Family Torah : the story of the Torah, written to be read aloud – or any of my other wonderful Jewish books for kids and families . English Worksheets & Printables: (For Hebrew, click here ) Science : Plants, Animals, Human Body Math Ambleside : Composers, Artists History Geography Language & Literature Science General Poems for Elemental Science . Original Poems written by ME, because the ones that came with Elemental Science were so awful. Three pages are included: one page with two po

What do we tell our kids about Chabad and “Yechi”?

If I start by saying I really like Chabad, and adore the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, z"l, well... maybe you already know where I'm headed. Naomi Rivka has been asking lately what I think about Chabad. She asks, in part, because she already knows how I feel. She already knows I’m bothered, though to her, it’s mostly about “liking” and “not liking.” I wish things were that simple. Our little neighbourhood in Israel has a significant Chabad presence, and Chabad conducts fairly significant outreach within the community. Which sounds nice until you realize that this is a religious neighbourhood, closed on Shabbos, where some huge percentage of people are shomer mitzvos. Sure, it’s mostly religious Zionist, and there are a range of observances, for sure, but we’re pretty much all religious here in some way or another. So at that point, this isn’t outreach but inreach . Convincing people who are religious to be… what? A lot of Chabad’s efforts here are focused on kids, including a

Adventures in Mama-Land

Search This Blog